Pipe spinner



July 21, 1970 c, K ET AL Filed Aug. 16, 3.967

5 0 R m U H L J ATTORNEY United States Patent Oflice 3,521,509 Patented July 21, 1970 3,521,509 PIPE SPINNER Donald C. Duke and J. L. Hunter Rountree, both of 6620 Long Drive, Houston, Tex. 77017 Filed Aug. 16, 1967, Ser. No. 660,979 Int. Cl. B25b 17/00 US. Cl. til-57.15 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A device for use in making up strings of pipe, particularly in well operations, for rotating a section of pipe to be mounted in a string of pipe, the device having rotating wheels movable into and out of contact with the pipe to be rotated. Pipe spinners that are presently found on the market, offer hydraulically driven spinners having a sub mounted in a housing and a ring gear powered to rotate said sub, which is usually swung into position from overhead, and which is connected into the string of pipe previously made up by threading the externally threaded end of the sub into the box end of the section to be spun, then guiding the externally threaded end of the section to be spun into alignment with the box end of the made-up string, and when the section is connected into the string, then reversing rotation of the spinner to disengage the sub, all of which is time consuming. This invention relates to means for contacting the outer surface of the pipe to be spun, rotating said section, with the means for moving the rotating wheels into and out of contact with the pipe being hydraulic and requiring a minimum of time to place into operation, and the device itself being pivotally mounted on the derrick floor, to swing into and out of position, as desired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the device, showing the movable housing member in out of engagement position.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of one of the contact wheel assemblies employed.

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the drawings the numeral 1 designates a housing containing a ring gear 2, rotatably mounted therein, and contiguous with the hoosing 1 are the gear power means, such as the conventional gear box 3 and the hydraulic motor 4, which rotate the ring gear 2.

Mounted in the housing 1 and extending outwardly therefrom are the driving wheels which consist of the contact wheels 5, 5 which are wide wheels adapted to make friction contact with the pipe of a pipe string and the integral gear 6 between the contact wheels 5, 5, said gear 6 being of less diameter than the wheels 5, 5, and meshing with the ring gear 2 and being driven thereby.

Telescopically mounted on the housing 1 is the idle wheel housing 7 which contains the rotatable idle wheels 8, 8 positioned in the housing 7 to contact the pipe to be spun in diametric opposed relation to the contact wheels 5, 5. An air operated ram 9 is mounted in the housing 1, and an actuating arm 10 extends from the ram 9 to the top of the inner telescoping section 11, which is integral with the housing member 7. Air lines 12, 13 lead into the ram 9 to control the movement of the piston therein (not shown).

A pivot eye 14 is formed in the housing 1 to permit the housing to be swung into and out of spinning position.

In use, when it is desired to connect a section of pipe, as 15, into a string, the section is lowered from above to a position over the anchored string to which it is to be connected, and the housing 1, with the member 7 in extended position, is swung into position and the member 7 moved into contact with the section 15 and the prepositioning of the housing 1 places the section 15 in alignment with the string when the member 7 is in engagement with the section 15. The ring gear 2 is then rotated through the motor 3 and the section 15 spun into tight connection with the string, and the member 2 then extended and the housing 1 swung away from the pipe 15 and, if desired, the section 15 is set by the usual tongs and the make-up of the string continued.

While the foregoing is considered a preferred form of the invention, it is by way of illustration only, the broad principle of the invention being defined by the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

1. In a pipe spinner, a housing, a ring gear in said housing, means for rotating said gear, a pair of contact wheels mounted in said housing and a gear mounted integral therewith and in mesh with said ring gear, an idling wheel housing movably mounted on said first mentioned housing, and idling wheels rotatably mounted in said idling wheel housing, said idling wheel housing is provided with a telescoping connection with said first mentioned housing and a hydraulic ram mounted in said first mentioned housing has an actuating arm extended therefrom and having its extended end integral with the innermost of said telescoping members.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,042,736 10/1912 Wildmo 8l57 2,753,744 7/1956 Therien 8l57 JAMES L. JONES, JR, Primary Examiner 

